Yep, we’re engaged!

So, yesterday was the most amazing birthday EVER, to say the least. Mike drove up and surprised me at the office with flowers AND a giant cookie cake. I was thrilled because I thought I’d be spending my 22nd alone. I had plans to go running in the afternoon and possibly get a mani/pedi. But NOPE. Instead I was whisked away to do some super awesome birthday surprises.

In the office with my flowers!

Mr. Sneaky.

First, let me just say that my mother almost BLEW the whole thing on Tuesday by accidentally texting something to me that was meant for Mike regarding our plans, but luckily Mike is a smarty pants and he managed to cover it up.

Zeee cake, nom nom nom

So after sharing the cake with everyone in the office, we went to lunch at Bier Garden, one of my fave places in Asheville. I had a birthday glass of white zinfandel, and tried to get Mike to spill the beans about what the rest of the day’s plans were. No such luck. All I could get out of him was that I needed to put tennis shoes on.

We went home so I could change clothes. Then he revealed that we were going exploring at Pisgah National Forest. Weeee! I love exploring. We drove around on the Blue Ridge Parkway to get there, stopping at some overlooks. It was pretty cloudy, though, so I didn’t get any real spectacular pictures. We got to where the trail began and Mike told me it was 3.1 miles up and 3.1 miles down. We tackled it in less than 2 hours, and even though it was rough & steep & I was basically melting with sweat, it was sooo worth it.

Me at the beginning of the trail

Mike had to carry this huge day pack the whole time. It mainly had my camera bag, tripod, change of shoes, and sweatshirt in it. Hehehe.

The last leg

Made it to the top!

Then we set up my tripod and started taking pictures. This isn’t out of the ordinary because I LOVE getting photoshoots of the two of us. Mike hauled my tripod all the way up the mountain, AND my camera bag. =)

This one is out of focus but OH WELL.

We took a few pictures, and then Mike decided to take a couple where I was sitting on his knee. This was fine until my remote decided to stop working, so I stood up to see if I could get it to register.

Yep. When I turned around, he had assumed the position and the box was out.

It took a few seconds for me to register what was going on. He said his speech, which apparently was nothing like what he had rehearsed (but it was still wonderful), and I said OF COURSE! And no, before you ask, I didn’t cry. Which surprises me. I cry at EVERYTHING. I think I was just too surprised. And happy. And I just wanted to say yes and get the dang rock on my finger. Guys, it’s BEAUTIFUL!

I could NOT be happier. My fingers were swollen from the hike so it was a little snug at first, ha ha.

Then we sat and enjoyed the amazing panoramic views. We watched the falcons flying around on the wind and talked about how he LIED to me all morning long so he could pull off the surprise. Picking up a prisoner in Lexington my BUTT!

As you can imagine, I am BEYOND thrilled.

We spent the whole 3.1 miles down talking about how this had all been planned. He spoke to my parents on the phone last week and asked for their blessing. Since my dad is in Italy, it was kind of impossible to do it in person. My dad actually flew back into the states yesterday, and we skyped with them last night when we got home. I can’t believe my mom kept the secret for a whole WEEK.

This was about half way down.

After the hike, there was one more surprise left. DINNER! We ate at Pisgah Inn, a beautiful mountainside restaurant near Brevard. I had another glass of white zin and Mike had his typical dark beer (gross). I always optimistically try what he’s drinking and never like it. The view from our table was FABULOUS.

I even got a free desert when Mike told them it was my Bday AND we’d just gotten engaged.

So, it was a pretty fantastic Wednesday. Maybe the best in the history of Wednesdays. I can’t believe he pulled off such a HUGE surprise. I was not expecting this at all, and even though we’ve been discussing engagement, I really didn’t think it would all come together yesterday. But I’m so glad it did!

He had to drive back to Aiken this morning because he has work, so I’m sad about that. But my parents are coming to town on Saturday, we’re packing up my room here in Asheville, and then on Wednesday we’re driving down to Aiken before heading to Tallahassee for graduation. So I only have to wait 6 days before I see him again, and then this long distance relationship is OFFICIALLY OVER. So I guess I have a wedding to plan?

OH MY GOODNESS!! What a great blog!! I Love it! I'm so glad you shared:) I'm very happy for both of you and can't wait till you move here. I think you will really enjoy living in Aiken and I know Mike will be so happy to have you in his arms EVERYDAY!! Congratulations to you both! It really sounds like everything was amazing!!!

Your ring is beautiful! COngrats on your engagement and Happy B Day! 🙂 I have a camera question for you….What kind of tri pod do you own, and how much did it cost? Did your remote for you camera come with your camera? What differences between using a remote and the timer on the camera are there really? Sorry for so many questions….I'm just a curious person about photo! I studied Film Photography back in college and that was right when Digital just came out…I am re learning all over again!

I have a titanium tripod that I bought from best buy for around 100. The remote did not come with the camera, I had to buy it at a local camera shop. It was pretty cheap though, since it's just an infrared remote and not really a shutter release remote. There isn't much difference between using a remote and the timer, but the timer has to be reset between every picture, which means walking back and forth to the tripod. The remote eliminates that step. Hope this helps =)